Payments totalling €1.9 million are being issued to farmers under the Baling Assistance Payment (BAP) the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, confirmed today (Thursday, February 20).
According to figures released today by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), farmers in Wexford will receive the largest number of payments valued at €434,045.50.
Meanwhile farmers in Cork are set to get €272,281.75 while farmers in Carlow will receive €235,063.50.
According to DAFM, BAP payments will be visible in farmers’ bank accounts in the coming days.
The Baling Assistance Payment (BAP) was introduced in 2024 as an additional scheme to bolster fodder supplies which ran in tandem with the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM).
The payment gave farmers the choice to either receive funding by chopping straw under SIM or by baling it under BAP.
Not all applications are currently cleared for payment under BAP according to DAFM but the department said that "regular pay runs will continue in the coming weeks to ensure cleared cases are processed for payment as quickly as possible".
However an estimated 758 payments will be issued which will total €1,911,009.72.
According to Minister Heydon farmers who chose to withdraw or partially withdraw from SIM and enter BAP will start to receive payments in the coming days.
"I would encourage any farmers who have yet to provide the required supporting documentation to submit the information to my department to allow final payments to be made," he said.
The minister said that to date DAFM has paid out over €5.6 million in SIM, almost €9.7 million in Protein Aid and €32.4 million under the Tillage and Horticulture Support scheme.
"These payments are a critical support for tillage and underline the importance of the sector to this government,” he added.